Early Childhood Longitudinal
Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024) September 2023
Materials Change Request
No
material or nonsubstantive change to a currently approved
collection
No
Regular
09/07/2023
Requested
Previously Approved
07/31/2026
07/31/2026
159,964
159,964
87,154
87,154
0
0
The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study
(ECLS) program, conducted by the National Center for Education
Statistics (NCES) within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES)
of the U.S. Department of Education (ED), draws together
information from multiple sources to provide rich, descriptive data
on child development, early learning, and school progress. The ECLS
program studies deliver national data on children’s status at birth
and at various points thereafter; children’s transitions to
nonparental care, early care and education programs, and school;
and children’s experiences and growth through the elementary
grades. The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class
of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024) is the fourth cohort in the series of
early childhood longitudinal studies. The study will advance
research in child development and early learning by providing a
detailed and comprehensive source of current information on
children’s early learning and development, transitions into
kindergarten and beyond, and progress through school. The
ECLS-K:2024 will provide data about the population of children who
will be kindergartners in the 2023-24 school year, focusing on
children’s early school experiences continuing through the fifth
grade, and will include collection of data from parents, teachers,
and school administrators, as well as direct child assessments. The
request to conduct the first three national data collection rounds
for the ECLS-K:2024 was approved on April 7, 2023 (OMB# 1850-0750
v.26). The ECLS-K:2024 fall kindergarten data collection will be
conducted from August until December 2023, followed by the spring
(March-July 2024) kindergarten round, and the spring (March-July
2025) first-grade round. Each of these rounds of data collection
will involve advance school contacts, for example to conduct
student sampling activities, collect teacher and school
information, and locate families whose children may have moved
schools. Future OMB packages will be submitted for the third-and
fifth-grade field test (to be conducted in March-July 2026), as
well as for the national spring (March-July 2027) third-grade round
and the spring (March-July 2029) fifth-grade round. This current
revision request (accompanied by 30 days of public comment) is to
update study respondent materials, web and paper surveys, and
website designs that will be used in the kindergarten and
first-grade data collection activities. Many of the revisions in
this package were made based on analyses of the fall 2022 field
test data (OMB# 1850-0750 v.25), which informed changes to the
design of the surveys and child assessment. Other changes occurred
after further discussion on operational procedures. Revisions to
the study instruments (and to some extent, the respondent materials
and websites) are largely limited to changes to the fall
kindergarten materials; additional revision requests will be
submitted to OMB for revisions to the spring kindergarten and
spring first-grade materials once additional analyses of the fall
2022 field test data are complete. National data collection work
completed to date will also inform these future revisions. The
requested changes do not affect the approved total cost to the
federal government for conducting this study.
US Code:
20
USC 9573 Name of Law: Education Sciences Reform Act
The burden reduction in this
revision is based on revised timing for the instruments. The new
estimates were derived from the time spent on the instruments in
the field test.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.